Draft:Formidable Vegetable

Formidable Vegetable

Formidable Vegetable are an Australian electro (music) funk/swing music band led by ukulele player, drummer and vocalist Charlie Mgee. The band formed in 2012, originally as Formidable Vegetable Sound System with core members Mal Webb and Kylie Morrigan and others including Alex Burkoy, Mayuka Juber, Tim Bennett and Kevin Jones, later working closely with Australian electronic producer, Spoonbill and collaborating with well-known artists such as Harry James Angus and Secret Agent 23 Skidoo. The band's experimental style combines principles of permaculture, sustainability and regenerative design with dance music and has become popular at festivals such as Glastonbury and Woodford Folk Festival and more recently among children and families with frequent rotation on SiriusXM and Kids.Radio. In 2023, they won Best Album and Best Music Video at the MMMA Australian Children’s Music Awards, ahead of well known and longtime children's band, The Wiggles.

Origin: Fremantle, Western Australia

Genres: Electro, Funk, Swing, Folk, Dance, Children's Music

Years active: 2012 - present

Labels: Grow Do It, 8 Pound Gorilla

Spinoff of: Ensemble Formidable

Members (current and past): ·Charlie Mgee ·Mal Webb ·Kylie Morrigan ·Mayuka Juber ·Tim Bennett ·Brenna Quinlan ·Alex Burkoy ·Alex Borthwick ·Dave Lawrence ·Dave Elliston ·Michael Boase ·Michael Barker (drummer) ·Harry James Angus ·Olly Watkins ·Scott Kociuruba ·Kevin Jones ·Harry Jakamarra ·Jimmy Halliday ·Bohdan Pračhar ·Katrina Button ·Jamie Bretman ·Nikki Dagostino ·Sanshi ·Freya Hanly ·Gemma West ·Melissa Gibson ·Lee Harsidty ·Dazastah ·Janine Oxenham ·Petha Farrer Shoveller ·Carlien Jeanne ·Aria Scarlett ·Bec Schofield ·Dave Mann ·James Abberley ·Wynx ·Jeff Harold ·Marsha Ashwell

Website: www.formidablevegetable.com.au

History

2012-2015: Beginnings - Permaculture: A Rhymer's Manual

Formidable Vegetable was started by Charlie Mgee on ukulele, vocals and an electronic sampler. In late 2011, Mgee co-founded and performed in Fremantle-based electroswing band, Ensemble Formidable after returning from a year of studying permaculture with Robyn Francis. The band performed songs inspired by the course including ‘No Such Thing as Waste’ and ‘The Edge’, at folk festivals and events around Western Australia. The following year, Mgee wrote and recorded ‘Permaculture: A Rhymer's Manual’, the debut Formidable Vegetable album based around the 12 principles of permaculture and the book: Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability by David Holmgren. The album was a collective effort of various musician from around the country, including Mgee’s bandmates from Ensemble Formidable and Mal Webb, who would become Formidable Vegetable’s longest-term member.

The ’band’ was officially formed later that year at the Eclipse 2012 Festival in Far North Queensland, Australia when, after a programming error, Mgee was the only member of Ensemble Formidable to be present on the day that the band had been booked to play the opening night headline slot of the main live music stage. Instead of cancelling the show, Mgee offered to fill in for the band and instead perform the songs he’d been recording for his new experimental ‘permaculture ukulele project’. Recruiting three other musicians and a DJ present at the festival that evening, they formed ‘Formidable Vegetable Sound System’ (aptly named to pay homage to the band that was programmed to play, but would be appearing the next night instead) and performed their first ever show to approximately 2000 people at an international electronic dance music festival they weren’t booked to play at. Moments after the first show, the band were offered more festival bookings at Glastonbury in the UK, Symbiosis in the US, Shambhala in Canada, Rainbow Serpent and Woodford Folk Festival in Australia.

The album, Permaculture: A Rhymer's Manual was officially launched in April of 2013 via the band’s newly created independent label Grow Do It, at the start of what would be the band’s first international tour, with their track ‘No Such Thing As Waste’ receiving a WAM Song of the Year Award in 2013 for Best Folk Song and their music video for ‘Yield’ winning two awards at the Australian Independent Music Video Awards that year.

2015-2016: Radish Beets – Remixed & Revegetated

In mid-2015 Formidable Vegetable released through their own label a mini-album of remixes by international EDM producers of songs from ‘Permaculture: A Rhymer's Manual’, after pressure from their electronic music-loving fanbase to release music that sounded more like their live show, which had become significantly more electronic since the live band’s inception at Eclipse 2012.

Between 2013-2016, the band toured to 17 countries before Mgee announced on BBC Oxford that he was pledging not to fly anywhere for an entire year, due to the harmful ecological impact and contradiction to the band’s ethics.

2016-2019: Grow Do It

At the same time as the permaculture songs were being remixed for ‘Radish Beets’, the band was writing and producing their first children’s album, ‘Grow Do It’ with renowned Australian electronic producer, Spoonbill, which was released in September 2016 through their independent label of the same name and launched with a flight-free, waste vegetable oil-powered national tour, which took them to every state and territory of Australia. The album featured the addition of New Zealand-based drummer, Michael Barker (drummer), formerly of John Butler Trio and contained the singles, ‘Kimchi’ and ‘You Are What You Eat’, which was hailed as the official song of the United Nations’s 2015 International Year of Soil by the Food & Agriculture Organization. Formidable Vegetable followed up with another international tour in 2017, which took them to the USA, UK, Iceland, Malta, Italy and New Zealand.

2019-2020: Earth People Fair

The band’s 4th album, ‘Earth People Fair’, released in April 2019 was inspired by the permaculture ethics of Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share as well as Indigenous Australians writer Bruce Pascoe’s book ‘Dark Emu’. It featured collaborations with Grammy Award winning children’s hip-hop artist, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, beat-maker and producer, Dazastah of well-known Australian hip-hop group, Downsyde and Hugo The Poet, formerly of The Juice Media’s subversive Juice Rap News. The album featured the singles ‘Dad’s Dunny’, ‘Grow a Garden’, ‘Singing Makes it Better’, ‘Not The End’ and the title track ‘Earth People Fair’, which featured collaborations with Indigenous artists and the ‘Yagu Wila’ choir, formed in the remote Gascoyne region of Western Australia. In early 2019, just before the album’s release, Mgee once again pledged to stop flying, this time without setting a time limit. The decision came after reading the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5˚ C and led to the band canceling their upcoming World Tour, which, according to the BBC World Service, made them the first band in history to turn down an offer to play at Glastonbury on the grounds of climate change. For the same reason, during this period, Formidable Vegetable also turned down various advertising licensing offers and an invitation to perform at the Sydney Opera House alongside world renowned American cellist, Yo Yo Ma.

2020-2022: Garbage Guts & In Real Life

In early 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Formidable Vegetable was offered a licensing deal from a US children’s label and the band’s 2016 album, ‘Grow Do It’ being licensed retrospectively, became the first release on the newly established 8 Pound Gorilla Records label. Soon followed by their next EP Garbage Guts'. The EP featured seven songs, one of which was a new version of the 2011 song ‘No Such Thing as Waste’.

In 2022 the band released another EP, ‘In Real Life’, which was intended as a tongue-in-cheek comment to kids about the shallowness of social media and screen life. The single ‘Short Attention Span’ was featured by the Center for Humane Technology, creators of the film ‘The Social Dilemma’ and the track ‘Fluff’ featured a cameo from The Cat Empire’s Harry James Angus on trumpet.

At Woodford Folk Festival in 2022/23, Formidable Vegetable invited the Australian federal arts minister, Tony Burke to play guitar with them at their New Years Eve show, which he went on to claim as being one of his top-5 experiences since being in office.

2023-present: Micro Biome

Preferring to be independent, Formidable Vegetable ended their licensing contracts in 2023 and went on to release ‘Micro Biome’, an album of 8 songs released back on their own independent label, Grow Do It.

The album charted at number 4 on the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR) charts in its first week of release and later that year received two MMMA Childrens Music Awards for Best Album and Best Music Video (for the single ‘The Seaweed on Al G’). In addition to regular band members, the album featured collaborations with multi-instrumentalist, Linsey Pollak, well-known for the TEDx talk in which he turns a carrot into a clarinet as well as Logie Award-winning Australian TV gardening personality, Costa Georgiadis. Unable to perform together during the previous two years due to COVID restrictions, the album launch turned into an 18 month-long Australian tour.

Activism & Advocacy

Since 2016, the band has been a regular contributor and recognised patron of the Permaculture International Public Fund (commonly known as Permafund), which distributes micro-grants to communities for permaculture projects in underprivileged parts of the world. They are also a regular contributor to the Pay The Rent movement, which is an independent financial reparations initiative for Indigenous Australians.

In 2019, after cancelling their international tour on ecological grounds, lead member Charlie Mgee converted a waste vegetable oil-powered fire truck into a mobile stage and joined a convoy initiated by former Greens senator Bob Brown, protesting a new coal mine being opened in north Queensland.

Over the years, Charlie Mgee and Formidable Vegetable have performed in Australia and around the world at numerous charitable and environmental events in support of small farmers and food sovereignty, the Great Barrier Reef, ending native forest logging, and climate justice.

In 2018, Mgee gave a TEDx talk on the power of making music with purpose for a regenerative world. He has also served as board member for the charitable not-for-profit organization, Permaculture Australia.

Awards & Recognition

• WAM Song of The Year 2013 – “No Such Thing as Waste” – Best Folk Song • Australian Independent Music Video Awards 2013 – “Yield” – Best Blues Song & Best Editing • Funky Kids Radio Awards 2021 – “No Such Thing as Waste” – Song of the Year • Funky Kids Radio Awards 2021 – “Garbage Guts” – Album of the Year • MMMA Childrens Music Awards 2023 – “Micro Biome” – Best Album • MMMA Childrens Music Awards 2023 – “The Seaweed on Al G” – Best Music Video

Discography

Albums & EPs

Title and Details:

Permaculture: A Rhymer's Manual, Released: 2012, Format: CD, vinyl, digital, Label: Grow Do It

Radish Beets, Released: 2015, Format: CD, digital, Label: Grow Do It, MGM

Grow Do It, Released: 2016, Format: CD, digital, Label: Grow Do It, MGM

Earth People Fair, Released: 2019, Format: CD, vinyl, digital, Label: Grow Do It

Garbage Guts (EP), Released: 2021, Format: Digital, Label: 8 Pound Gorilla Records

In Real Life (EP), Released: 2022, Format: Digital, Label: 8 Pound Gorilla Records

Micro Biome, Released: 2023, Format: CD, digital, Label: Grow Do It

Singles:

Title & Details No Such Thing as Waste Album: None Released: 2011

Yield Album: Permaculture: A Rhymer's Manual Released: 2013

SOS: Save Our Seeds feat. Vandana Shiva Album: None Released: 2014

The Edge (Spoonbill Remix) Album: Radish Beets Released: 2015

You Are What You Eat Album: Grow Do It Released: 2015

Kimchi Album: Grow Do It Released: 2016

Trees Eat Us All Album: Earth People Fair Released: 2016

Dad’s Dunny Album: Earth People Fair Released: 2017

Grow a Garden Album: Earth People Fair Released: 2019

Singing Makes It Better Album: Earth People Fair Released: 2019

Not The End Album: Earth People Fair Released: 2019

Earth People Fair Album: Earth People Fair Released: 2019

Climate Movement (with Spoonbill) Album: None Released: 2020

Get a Goat Album: Garbage Guts Released: 2021

No Such Thing As Waste Album: Garbage Guts Released: 2021

Our Street Album: Garbage Guts Released: 2021

All I Want for Christmas is Used Album: Micro Biome (CD only) Released: 2021

Short Attention Span Album: In Real Life Released: 2022

The Seaweed on Al G Album: Micro Biome Released: 2022

I Love Carrots Album: Micro Biome Released: 2023

Micro Biome Album: Micro Biome Released: 2023

Remixes:

Title	Year

Formidable Vegetable – “The Edge (Spoonbill Remix)”	2015

Formidable Vegetable – “Change (feat. JPOD)”	2015

Formidable Vegetable – “Energy (Bumble Remix)”	2015

Formidable Vegetable – “Get Together (Griff’s Unified Mix)” 	2015

Formidable Vegetable – “No Such Thing as Waste (Mr Moon Remix)	2015

Spoonbill – “Fowl Play (feat. Formidable Vegetable)	2018

Spoonbill – “Fowl Play (feat. Formidable Vegetable – Staunch Remix)	2019

Formidable Vegetable – “Grow a Garden (Stickybuds Remix)	2019

Formidable Vegetable – “Everybody’s Crazy feat. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo (Father Funk Remix)	2019

Music Videos

Year	Song	Director(s)	Album

2011	“No Such Thing As Waste” Wee Earthlings & Oz J Thomas None

2013	“Yield” Jono “Dropbear” Chong Permaculture: A Rhymer's Manual

2013	“Oil” Oz J Thomas Permaculture: A Rhymer's Manual

2014	“Limits” Oz J Thomas Permaculture: A Rhymer's Manual

2015	“Patterns” Oz J Thomas Permaculture: A Rhymer's Manual

2015	“The Edge (Spoonbill Remix)" Jono “Dropbear” Chong Radish Beets

2016	“You Are What You Eat” Bigfish Grow Do It

2016	“Kimchi” Kiran Wilson, Daniel Fowler Grow Do It

2017	“Dad’s Dunny” Kyle Wilson Earth People Fair

2018	“Plastic!” Runamuk Visuals Grow Do It

2019	“Grow a Garden” Formidable Vegetable Earth People Fair

2019	“Earth People Fair” Happen Films Earth People Fair

2019	“Everybody’s Crazy (feat. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo) – Father Funk Remix" Formidable Vegetable None

2020	“Climate Movement (with Spoonbill)” Brenna Quinlan & Jono “Dropbear” Chong None

2021	“Get a Goat” Tim Bennett Garbage Guts

2021	“Our Street” Antony Petrucci Garbage Guts

2021	“No Such Thing as Waste” Formidable Vegetable Garbage Guts

2022	“Short Attention Span” Tim Bennett In Real Life

2023	“The Seaweed on Al G” Artrake Micro Biome

2023	“I Love Carrots” Formidable Vegetable Micro Biome

Notable Events & Festival Performances

• Woodford Folk Festival, Australia (2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2022)

• Glastonbury Festival, UK (2013, 2015, 2017 and online in 2020)

• Rainbow Serpent Festival, Australia (2013, 2014, 2015)

• Folk Rhythm & Life Festival, Australia (2012, 2019)

• Shambhala Festival, Canada (2013)

• Boomtown Fair, UK (2013, 2015)

• Symbiosis Festival, USA (2013)

• City of London Festival, UK (2014)

• Cairns EcoFiesta, Australia (2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2023)

• Cygnet Folk Festival, Australia (2014, 2017, 2023)

• Nannup Music Festival, Australia (2014, 2015, 2023)

• Fairbridge Festival, Australia (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018)

• Boom, Portugal (2015)

• Bhoomi Festival, India (2014)

• Luminate Festival, New Zealand (2015, 2017, 2019)

• Pangaea Festival, Australia (2023)

• Electric Picnic, Ireland (2015)

• Gittanakesfoor, Belgium (2015)

• Nordic Permaculture Festival, Denmark & Iceland (2013, 2017)

• Compost Festival, Malta (2017)

• Sustainable Living Festival, Australia (2018)

• Green Festivals, USA (2017)

• Shambala, UK (2015)

• Latitude, UK (2015)

• Lovebox Festival, UK (2015)